By all accounts, last month’s Johns Creek Literary Fair was a huge success. The event, held from noon to 5 p.m. on November 15 at city hall, welcomed over 500 book lovers who came out to hear from guest speakers and meet dozens of local authors in person.
The keynote speaker was New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen White, who showcased and signed her latest release, “The Lady on Esplanade,” the third novel in her Royal Street series.
With a whopping 37 novels under her belt and nearly two million books in print in 15 languages, White was a popular choice for keynote and an exciting addition to the third annual literary fair.
Nathan Deal, Georgia’s governor from 2011–2019 was another special guest, touted as the “catnote” speaker, as he was promoting his first published literary work, “Veto, the Governor’s Cat” at the event.
This year’s fair also showcased a panel of award-winning historical fiction authors, including moderator Kimberly Brock and novelists Meagan Church, Carolyn Newton Curry and Piper Huguley.
Brock is the author of the recently published “The Fabled Earth,” and was twice shortlisted for the prestigious Townsend Prize for Fiction. Church is a bestseller who penned “The Mad Wife.” Curry was the 2015 Georgia Author of the Year for Biography and most recently released the novel “Trudy’s Awakening.” And Huguley is an award-winning literature professor and author of “American Daughters.”
Bookmiser was on hand at the literary fair to sell copies of all of the noted authors’ books.
New venue, successful fair
This was the first year the event was held at Johns Creek City Hall. Previous JCLF’s were held in the Mark Burkhalter Amphitheater at Newtown Park. But Hurricane Helene last year motivated organizers to find an indoor venue — a change that not only protected against potential bad weather, but also allowed the literary fair volunteers to track attendance numbers.
“This is the first year we had a hard headcount,” said Kathy Cioffi, owner of KRC Communications, author and JCLF and Arts On The Creek founder, “since City Hall has strict fire marshal requirements.”
But, she added, “having nearly 500 attend this year [made it] one of the most successful literary fairs to date.”
Cioffi said the organizing committee plans is to hold the literary fair at city hall again. And now that people are more aware of the new location, they expect attendance to be even higher next year.
The founding and growth of the JCLF
The idea of a Johns Creek Literary Fair originated in 2022. As a longtime volunteer with a variety of book-related organizations in the area, including Roswell Reads and Atlanta authors, Cioffi thought it was time for Johns Creek to have a book festival of its own.
“I tested the idea in 2022 with a Book Fest sponsored by [my nonprofit organization] Arts on the Creek at the Johns Creek Arts Festival,” she shared. “It was such a success that I approached the city of Johns Creek to support the idea in 2023, which they did.”
Since then, Arts on the Creek has partnered with the city to plan and make the annual events possible. Having city hall as the new location for the fair only deepens that partnership.
As the event grows, Cioffi and other organizers work to keep it fresh, with different themes and headliners planned each year. Author Kristin Harmel was the keynote guest in 2023, Rick Bragg in 2024 and, of course, Karen White for 2025.
“This year, [we featured] historical novels,” said committee member and local author Soniah Kamal. “Every year, we have one panel of authors. And each year, we feature a different genre. This year it’s historical. Last year were legal eagles.” Next year’s theme is in the works, but hasn’t yet been announced.
Kamal also wanted to point out that the Johns Creek Literary Fair is a free event. “And [readers] are going to meet authors, local authors that they probably haven’t met before who are doing wonderful work,” she added. “And it’s just a nice, fun day.”
Local authors in the spotlight
In fact, one of the highlights of the Johns Creek Literary Fair is that guests get to meet local authors and perhaps find some new books to add to their TBR (to-be-read) list.
Over 24 local writers were at this year’s event, signing and chatting about their books, including YA and adult authors, children’s book authors and the JCLF’s three-year master of ceremonies George Weinstein, who is also the executive director of the Atlanta Writers Club.
We were able to speak to a few of the authors in attendance at this year’s JCLF and learn a little bit about their process, their published works and what they have coming up next.
George Weinstein — multi-genre author
Weinstein is a Marietta-based, award-winning author and president of the Atlanta Writers Club. He’s been writing for 25 years, starting with his first published book, the bestselling Southern Gothic historical novel, “Hardscrabble Road.”
“It took me eight years to get that book published,” Weinstein shared. “It took me 12 years to write it and then another eight to get it published. So it was a real labor of love. I had to hang in there a long time.”
But that’s the process, he explained, “You just hang in there and you stay in the game.”
Having now authored seven books, readers may wonder if he’s at the point where he makes a living from his writing. His answer? “Oh, goodness, no. There are very few writers who make a full-time living on their novels. Now, this is a wonderful hobby,” he said. “Just the best hobby there is.”
Weinstein’s day job is in consulting, something he’s done along with project management for 30 years. And with that, he still finds time to write and publish.
His most recent novel is a pre-apocalyptic dystopian comedy titled “Offlining,” published under the name GJ Weinstein.
When asked what advice he’d give to writers who are just starting out, Weinstein’s response is simple. “Hang in there. There’s a long, long journey. Don’t think that wherever you are right now is the end or is even a tenth of the way there,” he said. “This is the forever journey, and the only writer who fails is the one who quits. Don’t quit, just hang in there. And you’ll eventually accomplish the goals you set out.”
Another thing he shared were his thoughts on the subject of authors and AI. “As far as editing goes, anybody who’s been using Microsoft Word has been using AI for years … to flag grammar problems and things like that. And that’s the extent to which I use AI,” he said. “I don’t want some regurgitative program telling me, ‘here’s some great ideas for your next book, or here’s what you ought to do with your plot.’ If it’s not coming out of my head, it’s not going to serve.”
Learn more about George Weinstein at georgeweinstein.com.
G.A. Anderson — women’s fiction author
A first-generation Canadian, now settled in metro Atlanta, Anderson — also known as Gaby — didn’t set out to pursue a creative path; her degree from the University of Denver is in business administration. But years ago, she found herself putting her stories to paper after friends and family members suggested she consider writing a book.
Today, she’s published two. Her first book “South of Happily” took 20 years from start to finish. “Why? Because I had a really nasty divorce, then I got remarried and had two little kids, and I had to work,” she explained. “So, just life. Making a living and getting by. And writing took a backseat.”
Her follow-up novel, “Dream a Little Dream” took less time to write and publish, though the process was much the same.
“The process [for the first book] was … sort of my therapy, because of some traumatic things that happened in my life. The book sort of became my therapy,” she said. “I wrote the whole first draft while we lived in Colorado. When we moved to Atlanta, I joined the Atlanta Writers Club. And … they taught me how to write better. And it took another 10 years. Through another 10 years, I got it. I managed to get it published. Five pages at a time.”
It was her current husband that pointed out the connection between the therapeutic and creative aspects of Anderson’s writing process. “It’s actually something that my husband said. He said, ‘The way that the character grows in the book, I don’t think you realize how much you’ve grown in the book as well.’” She shared.
“He said, ‘I don’t think you understand the arc that your main character has is also the arc that you are having.’ So that was enlightening. And there was a lot of therapy in the book,” Anderson said, “because I wanted to show good therapy … what it looks like … that it’s not boring. I didn’t want the usual terrible therapist [as a plot point].”
These days, in addition to writing, Anderson works in behavioral health management. She was joined at the Johns Creek Literary Fair by her daughter, Alex Murphy, who shared her thoughts on watching her mother create and grow as an author.
“It’s been really cool watching her write this [latest book] and kind of bloom as she’s written it. She has gotten a lot more confident, and it’s been really, really nice to see how much she believes in herself now versus when she first started writing. I love seeing her like that.”
Anderson’s books are available from her website, as well as on Amazon and other online booksellers. Learn more at anderson-author.com.
Brittany Groussman — YA fantasy author
Groussman, author of “Darkness in the Forest,” graduated from Kennesaw State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. “Yes, in psychology,” she said. “I’m also a fencing coach, so all of the sword work in the book is based off of actual fencing instructions.”
“Darkness in the Forest” is Groussman’s debut, self-published YA fantasy novel, which took her five years “on and off” to finish.
The book is part of a planned Wilder Warriors series that tells the tale of protagonist Linnea and her younger brother as they “fight to protect their forest from a mysterious darkness.”
“This story actually came to me when I was talking to my niece,” said Groussman. “Funny enough, she … heard I was writing a different book at the time and was like, ‘oh, Aunt Brittany, can you write a book with a character like me?’ We started talking, and she gave me some ideas, and it crafted this entire story in my head. So I’ve got this [book] kind of loosely based on her and her younger brother as the main characters.”
Groussman shared that she has been marketing the book for about a year now. “[Darkness in the Forest] published in July of 2024. I started marketing around January, 2024. I probably should have started a little sooner than that,” she said. “But it’s been marketed that long.”
The time put in to getting the word out about her novel and having people pick up and read the book seems to have paid off. “The feedback on the writing is actually very positive,” she shared. “Even though it’s young adult, I have adults that enjoy it because I’m a bit more of a narrative writer and I like to deal with that imagery and all of that.”
“I probably write a little bit more mature,” she added, “which is why I’ve got it [listed] as young adult and not middle grade.”
For more about Brittany Groussman and Darkness in the Forest, visit brittanygroussman.com.
Paul C. Darden — teen and YA historical fiction author
Paul Darden is not just an author, he’s also a middle school teacher — originally in the Bronx and now in Loganville. His historical fiction “Freedom Runner” and “Rise of the Runners” books are part of a planned seven-book Time Runner series aimed at teens and young adults.
The idea to write the first one was sparked by a student in one of his classes.
“I had a student come to my classroom [when we were covering] Colonial America,” said Darden. “And he pulled me aside and said, ‘okay, when are we going to learn about my culture?’ I paused for a second, looked at him and said, ‘we’re not.’ He’s from Jamaica. [So] I thought about it … during lunch, and I was like, ‘wow, this kid is going to be in our school system for … 12 plus years, and he’s not going to learn about his culture; as if his culture has added nothing to society. And I [thought], let me see if I can find something that kind of encompassed not just him, but the other students. And I couldn’t.”
When Darden couldn’t find any books that highlighted the student’s country and culture during that historic time period, he decided to research and write his own.
“As a teacher, [I was] already creating materials for my students to read and engage with anyway. So I said, let me pick up where I left off. I [had] started writing in college, and then fast forward, and we’re here.”
Published under his own Serious Pens Publishing company, “Freedom Runner” found a following. This led to a Rise of the Runners ebook series with a free online book and teachers guides to go along with it — allowing teachers to seamlessly integrate it into their classrooms.
“A lot of schools have what they call REP or reading time,” said Darden. “It might be 30, 10, 40 minutes a day when kids can sit down [and read]. So teachers can take the free ebook, and … grab the teacher’s guide, and the kids can read and answer questions, and they can break it down.”
Learn more about the book series at seriouspenspublishing.com.
Planning for next year’s JCLF
Cioffi shared that planning for each year’s event starts the day after the current literary fair ends and becomes nearly a full-time job leading up to the next one.
The current nine-member committee has already started on plans for 2026. “Yes, planning has begun,” Cioffi said. “More info to come.”
Kamal was happy with the turnout at this year’s fair and expects next year’s to be just as much fun. She also shared more about the process in selecting the authors that will appear.
“Almost all of them are from metro Atlanta,” she said. “They have to apply. We have a lot of local authors … and they apply, and then [the] selection committee … decides [who will attend]. We try to give it a good mix of books and topics and authors.”
One of the main criteria for selection? “Usually they’re independent authors,” she said. “So that means that they’re independently published, self-published. [Another] criteria, would be [for] newer authors. So [published] within the last three years.”
While some literary fairs choose not to include self-published authors, the JCLF celebrates them. Kamal said the committee likes to “give everyone a chance.”
“As best as we can,” she added. “Self-published, newer books, fantasies, science fiction, children[s books].”
That great mix of genres and authors, traditionally published and self-published, makes the Johns Creek Literary Fair a standout event for readers of all ages and interests and represents the inclusive, community-focused values this north metro Atlanta city is known for.
